Takes

Alabama is now closer to a normal SEC team than they have ever been

Alabama... are way closer to a normal SEC team than they've ever been. And nothing is happening to make me think that's gonna change. Milroe is not good enough... they've been normal forever at receiver. They are normal.

I like Penn State's chances as underdogs against Notre Dame in the semifinals

I like Penn State's chances. I like that they're dogs. I like that they're dogs in this game. As of right now, they're one and a half point dogs. Opened as dogs. It'll be a good game.

Ohio State will beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl's gonna be awesome. I think I'm gonna take Ohio State in that game. And it's mostly based on the uniforms that Oregon picked. I didn't really like 'em, I thought they should have done more classic.

Ohio State's offensive line is a massive concern that could lead to an upset loss against Tennessee

If you really watched the Michigan game, when they lost the center from Alabama, Seth McLaughlin, when he went down with that Achilles, I think that offensive line is a serious question mark going up against Tennessee's strength, which is their defensive front.

Penn State has a dream draw to reach the College Football Playoff semifinals

Penn State [is] getting a dream draw... they'd probably be heavy favorites over SMU. They'd probably be heavy favorites over Boise State. And so they could theoretically be heavy favorites in both their first two games and get to the semis.

Ohio State settling for Will Howard over Cam Ward was a massive failure

They went to the Mercedes dealership this year and got a safety. They went to the Mercedes dealership and they got a running back and they went to Dollar General and got a quarterback. I have no idea why they did that. When Miami's going out and getting Cam Ward and everybody else is doing this and they settle for Will Howard.

The College Football Playoff committee will find a way to get Alabama in

They're gonna find a way to get Alabama into this tournament. Yeah, they are... Alabama will get it in my opinion. And I don't think that's the correct pick. Yeah. But I think that's what they're gonna do.

Travis Hunter should be a -5000 favorite to win the Heisman

I mean it should be like Travis Hunter minus like 5,000. If everything what PFT said is correct... it's something we've never seen before.

I will fight anyone who says Indiana shouldn't be in the playoff

I will fucking fight. If you find someone online who's saying Indiana should not be in the college football playoff—tag me snitch. Tag 'em. I just—I wanna fight 'em.

Georgia is the exception to the three-loss rule because they played the hardest schedule in the country

Georgia is the exception to me. Georgia has actually what every SEC fan keeps saying... Georgia has played an incredibly difficult schedule. They have the hardest in the country.

Kurt Cignetti is Coach of the Year for sure after Indiana goes 10-0

Kurt Cignetti is Coach of the Year for sure. Indiana. I think it's the first time, I think it's the first 10 win season for Indiana ever in football.

If Travis Hunter isn't playing on Championship Saturday while other Heisman candidates are, the Heisman race could be in trouble

Colorado has to win out. They have to win out and get to the Big 12 championship because I think if you have a championship Saturday and Dylan Gabriel and Ashton Jeanty and Cam Ward are all playing and Travis Hunter isn't, I think we might be fucked.

Carson Beck is not good

Carson Beck is not good.

BYU is going to lose at least one game, maybe two, down the stretch

BYU is going to lose a game. I'll say it right now. I'm gonna predict it. Not a crazy prediction. They might lose two games down the stretch. They have Kansas, Arizona State, and Houston.

I am betting against LSU because they are using a fake Mike the Tiger on the sidelines

It appears that they are now bringing a tiger back onto their sidelines... it seems like it might be a fake mike, the tiger that they're putting on the sidelines, because people took pictures... and they compared the stripes and they think that it's a duplicate Mike. It's a fake Mike the tiger... in which case I am going to be betting against LSU.

Mike Elko is a great football coach and was the right hire over a 'sexy' name

It's a great reminder though, for Texas A&M who did the Let's get Jimbo Fisher and pay him a hundred million dollars... sometimes in college football, Mike Elko was not the sexy hire. He's just a very good competent, like nuts and bolts football coach... Mike Elko is a fucking great football coach.

Travis Hunter is the best football player in the country and it shouldn't be up for debate

I think if you're just basing this off, who's the best football player? That's the criteria, right? Yeah. Who's the best football player in the country? Yeah. I don't think that it's up for debate.

Indiana needs to finish 11-1 to guarantee a College Football Playoff at-large bid

That would be trouble for them if they drop any other game... I think that there is an argument to be made that, that Indiana basically hasn't played a top 35 40 team in the country. So they really need to go 11-1 probably to get a CFP at large.

Clemson is actually good and everyone has just forgotten about them

I think as a collective society, we have forgotten about Clemson. [They] just tricked us. [They] aren't as good as Georgia, but they've been killing people.

College football is in a great spot because NIL and the transfer portal have increased parity

I truly believe with the NIL and transfer portal, I think you're going to get these teams, the Vandys of the world, being able to take a little slight step up and be competitive in these type of games that you didn't have before... It feels like there is a maybe 10 teams right now that... could win the playoff.

Travis Hunter is the Heisman Trophy winner

I'm gonna be watching the Padres play baseball. Yeah. And I'm gonna be like, you know what? That future, I cashed out on him. I'm actually happy that I did, because I invested it. I made money. Now I'm rolling that over. Invest in Travis Hunter. ... He's the Heisman Trophy winner.

Travis Hunter is the best college football player I've ever seen

He is the best football player in the country... Travis Hunter. Travis Hunter deserves the respect. He might be the best college football player I've ever seen.

Travis Hunter should be the Heisman winner because he is the best football player in the country

Travis Hunter should be the Heisman. And maybe it's because I bet on him pre-season, but Travis Hunter should be the Heisman... if you actually voted for Heisman how it should be voted—best player, not how every award now gets voted on... Travis Hunter should be your Heisman Trophy winner because he is the best football player in college football.

Alabama will defeat Georgia this weekend.

Georgia Bama. I like Bama... You're taking Bama, Georgia. Okay.

Georgia is still a playoff team, but they aren't as dominant in the trenches as years past

I think they're holding Carson Beck back a little bit... that offensive line's not what I thought they were gonna be. So they can't just push people around and mash people and they're really not that kind of a group on defense. Now what they do have are freak show monsters on defense that can get you off the edge... but it's just not gonna look as dominant or clean as it has in years past.

Ole Miss vs. Georgia is the most important game for the Rebels' playoff path

I think the Ole Miss game [vs Georgia] probably the most important game there... I don't think 10 and two just guarantees that you're in the playoff with those schedules and if Georgia were to go down to say an Alabama or Texas not near as big of a deal. But I think you can go a little bit further in eliminating Ole Miss with maybe a 10 and two similar record if you're Georgia.

Tennessee's Dylan Sampson is a lightning rod and an explosive play waiting to happen

The difference right now, Dylan Sampson, it's not Nico [Iamaleava], it's not the receivers. This kid is a lightning rod at tailback explosive play waiting to happen and he presses the line of scrimmage... this kid is big time.

Texas is a bigger matchup problem for the SEC than any SEC team is for Texas

I don't from a matchup perspective, PFT I don't really know if there's a ton that I look at and just say like from a matchup perspective, like that's, that's rough... I think they're more of a matchup problem for anybody else than anybody else is for them because of how versatile they are offensively the motions they use the formations.

Texas is actually the best team in the country, not Georgia

I got Texas [at number one]... The way that they looked against Michigan, the final score, I don't think, does that game justice. It could have been a lot worse. Texas is very good.

Michigan is a flawed team that will only win seven or eight games this year

I think Michigan is very bad, or flawed. They're gonna win seven or eight games. They're in trouble offensively. I think it's horrifically bad offensively.

Notre Dame is already a lock for the College Football Playoff

Notre Dame won a game that was the biggest win of the weekend. Probably If you look at their schedule, they don't have a ton of tough tests after this. They're in the driver's seat... I'm fine with saying right now they're in the playoff.

The Miami Hurricanes are officially back

The U is back. Cam Ward is electric. He was electric last year. He he's awesome in the U. Yeah. It does feel like they're another team where a week one win on the road in the SEC, they now are in the driver's seat.

Florida State won't win another game until the fan who promised to eat dog shit actually does it

Coward, coward deleted his account. You gotta follow now that, listen, they're not gonna win any more games until this guy eats the dog shit out. That's facts. That's how it works.

There is a zero percent chance Clemson wins the national title this year

There's 0% chance Clemson is winning the national title this year. No, because you saw what it looks like when it's the best teams... Clemson was never in that game... as soon as the dam breaks, there's just nothing they can do about it.

Tennessee will be a legitimate contender in the SEC this season

Nico [Iamaleava] looks so good that I feel like Tennessee's gonna compete in the SEC. I feel like they'll be right there.

Michigan definitely cheated in the Connor Stallions scandal, but everyone else in college football probably cheated too

I love Connor Stallions... he's essentially just every fan ever who's like, I'll do anything for my team to win... But yeah, I mean they definitely cheated. I think everyone cheated, but they definitely did too.

Florida State is just an average football team, not a playoff contender

That team that we saw play on Saturday [Florida State] is not a playoff team in a 14-format, a 12-team format, a 30-team format. That's an average football team we saw.

Utah will lose its toughness advantage moving from the Pac-12 to the Big 12

Utah's main advantage in the Pac-12 was physicality... they could bully those teams. Now most of the Big 12, you probably can do that too, but you ain't doing that to Kansas State... Oklahoma State. That toughness advantage is gone now.

No team in the Big 12 will finish with fewer than three losses

My hot take about the Big 12 is that nobody is coming outta that league with fewer than three losses. I think it's gonna be a one-bid league.

If Notre Dame executes correctly, the crowd noise at Kyle Field won't be as big of a factor

We've played in some tough environments, but the thing about it, you have to prepare for it... something unique this year is that we have the coach to player communication... At the end of the day, if we execute, it won't be as loud as we think it's gonna be.

Alabama will not drop off in talent significantly following Nick Saban's retirement

I'm much higher on Alabama than I think most people are. I don't think they drop off that much. I remember going up there in the spring and just looking at the amount of aliens walking around on the field. It hasn't changed... They're still top three in talent in the whole country.

Tennessee has its deepest defensive line in over 20 years

Deepest defensive line they've had since I was a baby beat writer covering Tennessee. And they had John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth and Will Overstreet. It's been a long time since Tennessee's been that stacked on the D line.

Indiana is a lock to make a bowl game and cash the over on their 5.5 win total

Indiana's gonna be good, aren't they? They basically took half a JMU'S team from last year... I'm all in on Indiana making a bowl game and cashing that over ticket.

Notre Dame is in the best possible playoff position by being independent

Somehow some way Notre Dame with the way the college football playoff is set up... they're gonna get the five seed. And what that means at the five seed is they get a home game against probably a group of five team at the 12 seed. And then their next game will be against the four seed who will almost always assuredly be an ACC or a Big 12 team. So they will essentially always avoid the Big 10 and SEC until the Final Four.

The USC defense 'cannot be worse' than it was last year under Alex Grinch

They cannot be worse on defense... If their defense doesn't get significantly better, they might struggle... D'Anton Lynn went and got some guys that fit what he wants... USC's gonna have the right size guys in those positions now.

I was prepared to skip the Heisman ceremony if my offensive linemen weren't allowed to attend

When I won the Heisman, I brought my entire offensive line. I demanded that they come. There was pushback... and then I said, 'I'm not going unless [they come].' And then it ended up happening.

The 12-team Playoff expansion will only move the goalposts for ranking arguments without solving them

I just can't wait for the 12, 13, 14 team arguments. Maybe Tulane. And there's gonna be a 14 Colorado, like a team ranked 14th. You're gonna be like, you stink. You haven't beaten anyone. And you won a chance for the national championship. I don't know that the projection of the 12 teams is like... it's not that fucking hard.

The Washington Huskies are my new official Big 10 team

[My Big 10 team is] the Washington Huskies... because Belichick is a defensive coordinator. Steve Belichick... they combine two of my great loves before games. They've got drinking and then they've sailboats.

Michigan will not be in the top 10 by October 5th

Michigan's nine. But aren't they gonna stink this year? ...They will not be in the top 10 by October 5th. Mark my word.

The new Big 12 will be very fun despite losing Oklahoma and Texas

I think the new Big 12 is gonna be very, very fun. Yes. And I'm also very excited because no one ever talks about... Arizona and Kansas playing Big 12 basketball is gonna rule. [They've] had some good runs, but losing Oklahoma and Texas does not help.